Singer Kaoruko and producer/DJ Stones Taro released a collaborative mini-album "Y" and the subsequent remix collection "Y Remixes" in 2024. This work, which features lyrical tracks based on UK garage and vocals full of pop sense, attracted a lot of attention in the club scene in 2024, and many readers of TEQ Magazine will have heard the song. The two are engaged in unique activities while interacting in the current club scene, but when you unravel their biographies, the two do not have many things in common at first glance.
Kaoruko, born in Yokosuka and raised in Shinjuku, is a singer currently based in Tokyo. Her love of idols led her to become a member of an idol group in her teens, making her a unique career. After that, she began her solo artist career in earnest, and has been releasing albums consistently since her EP "Starting now" released in 2019. Her musicality, which evolves and deepens with each release, incorporates the essence of various genres such as hip-hop, chill pop, house and beat music with her urban sensibility. Her beautiful, ephemeral and melancholic singing voice and lyrics that express hope and confidence in a fresh way, along with hesitation and confusion, are characteristic of her music. In recent years, she has also been actively performing live at nightclubs.
Stones Taro is a producer/DJ from Wakayama Prefecture, currently based in Kyoto. He started his musical career with metalcore and hardcore punk bands, and later became a dance music producer, producing music strongly inspired by 90's House/UK Garage/Jungle, and is a popular artist who has released many works from famous overseas labels such as Shall Not Fade in the UK. Together with fellow Kyoto-based DJ/producer Lomax, he is also involved in the management of the Kyoto-based ninja house label "NC4K", and in 2024 released his first album "Dwellers Of The Seabed" from "NC4K". The theme of this work, which is "imaginary culture and life under the sea", is based on UK bass music and also incorporates ambient and tribal percussion sounds, and the album expresses a world of sound that gives a sense of storytelling with his smart sensibility.
These two individuals, who were born in different places, are based in different places, and have seemingly walked separate paths in their careers, how did they meet and influence each other? In this issue of TEQ Magazine, we interviewed Kaoruko and Stones Taro, who talked about their collaboration process and the stories behind the creation of their songs, focusing on their mini-albums "Y" and "Y Remixes."
- Thank you for your time. I understand this is the first time you two have been interviewed together, so I would like to start by asking how you two met and how you started collaborating?
Kaoruko: It all started with the compilation album " Vitamin Yellow " (included in Stones Taro & Kaoruko - YOU WORRY) released by tokyovitamin in 2021. We hadn't met before, but Kenchan from tokyovitamin introduced us to each other, saying that we seemed to have good chemistry and that we should try making a song together. Then Taro sent me the beat. When I heard the beat, I immediately got it, so I recorded the vocals and sent it to Taro, and we started producing together.
Stones Taro: That's right. The beat I sent at that time was already in its original form before I met Kao-chan, and the chord progression was more pop-oriented, so I was thinking about putting a song on it. So I gave it to her, and the lyrics and melody came, and it really fit the beat. From there, I adjusted the track arrangement a little, and finally recorded the vocals, so I think the song came out smoothly.
Kaoruko: That song was released as " Stones Taro & Kaoruko - YOU WORRY ", the PV was great, and a lot of people listened to it. I had never made a garage-like dance track before, so it was a fresh experience for me.
So I asked Taro if he would like to create a piece of work with me, and we started making "Y."
And so the collaboration began! What was the creative process like for the album "Y"?
Stones Taro: I think " Y " started from the title track " Y ". The idea for this song was inspired by the interesting letter "Y". The shape of the alphabet looks like a "branch" and the letter "Y" evokes the meaning of "YES". I wanted to make a song by abstracting this letter.
Kaoruko: I think I started with the title of the demo that Taro gave me, expanded the image of the song, and wrote the lyrics and melody. The title "Y" also matched the theme of the lyrics I wanted to write.
Stones Taro: I started making it with a dance track in mind, but the demo had an emotional finish, so I sent it to Kao-chan to ask him to sing it, and the lyrics and melody came together nicely. This song was made first, and I thought I could make a cohesive mini-album based on it, so I made various things.
Stones Taro: I think the next song we did was " Monstera ." I had already made a pretty detailed track for this song, so I sent it to Kao-chan and left the lyrics and melody up to him.
Kaoruko: Speaking of the production of "Monstera," the lyrics of this song are actually related to the content, and there is a part that samples PSG's "Aishiteru." If you notice it, I'd love for you to respond to it at a live show (laughs).
Stones Taro: Was the next one "Utakata"?
Kaoruko: I think it took a while to finish this song. I've been listening to it since I was little, and the music I was familiar with was J-POP and idol songs, so I was used to having really dynamic melody lines, but the songs I wanted to make and the songs that influenced me at the time could work even with calm melody lines. I remember struggling a bit with how to strike that balance, or how to approach it. I think Taro made the original melody for "Utakata," and I just added the lyrics to it.
Stones Taro: At the time, we were both really into Jorja Smith and other overseas tracks, and in order to emphasize the rhythm, the melody was deliberately not moved too much, and many of the tracks had two chords in the first place. In Japan, four-chord songs are the norm, but with those, the melody moves too much, and it feels a bit old-fashioned.
With that in mind, I created "Utakata" in my own interpretation, so that the song doesn't move too much, but the rhythm and melody intertwine, making it a song that works. The melody in the verse is eighth note, and the bass is simple, but the bass pops out in the hook, and the melody line narrows in space all at once. The intonation creates a sense of speed in the chorus, and I was conscious of creating a three-dimensional feel throughout the song, and I thought that pop music could be made without relying simply on melody alone. Through this song, we were able to communicate more about how to make melodies, and the production went more smoothly after that.
Kaoruko: The next song we wrote was " Memorize ". I remember Taro-kun praised the lyrics for this song (laughs). He said that the stuck parts were starting to clear up, and that it felt good and had a good flow. When I usually write lyrics, I usually match the phrases of words I've saved up to the flow of the melody, and flesh it out as I write, but I wrote the lyrics for this song in one go!
Stones Taro: I like how it conveys a fun feeling.
Kaoruko: It's a fun song to play live! It has a bouncy feel to it!
Stones Taro: The last song on "Y" was " Diamond ". Actually, there were some songs that were scrapped during the production of the album, but this song was completed quickly with momentum. It's simple, but the track is well-crafted, with a distorted breakbeat before the chorus, giving it a modern rave feel and hyper feeling, but also a warm one. A lot of people like this song.
Kaoruko: It's one of the catchiest songs in "Y". The part before the chorus, "inside me", has a nice beat and is an impressive arrangement, and it really gets the crowd excited at the live show!
I've often recorded alone at home, but sometimes I want to hear other people's opinions, so I finished "Diamond" in the studio while Taro-kun told me his image of how to sing it. The idea for the last chorus part "I need it" was thought up by Taro-kun at that time, and it fit perfectly!
- Thank you. The balance between the UKG beat and the vocal melody of "Y" was deepened through the two of you working together. At the end of last year, a remix album of "Y" was released. How did this work come about?
Kaoruko: I think the original trigger was that I felt it would be nice to have my sets connected in a dance-like way so that the audience could dance easily when I performed at club events. I had heard from friends who often came to my live shows that if you just connect songs as they are at club live shows, the performance can sometimes get boring, so I made a four-on-the-floor version of the song "Y" and thought it would be nice to perform it live with a smooth feel.
Stones Taro: If the transition isn't smooth, the audience may stop moving. Many of the intros of "Y" songs are short. When I went to a local venue, I heard a DJ say, "I add a kick to the intro of "Y" songs and edit them into a dance version so that I can play them as my own DJ." The original mastering of "Y" was for listening, not for playing in a club, so I decided to make a remix with a proper dance part and replace the 2-step part with a 4-on-the-floor beat. Then, I performed with Kao-chan at WOMB last year.
Kaoruko: At the WOMB event, I participated in a short live performance in the middle of Taro's DJ set. The party itself had people from a variety of genres, including Hip Hop, and there were a lot of young people in the audience. We had a live set in between Taro's DJ set on the main floor, and it was a really exciting late-night feel to the show, which was great!
So I thought I'd like to release the dance remix for the live performance because it was good. Soon after I released "Y", Taro's friend Zaltsman made a remix of " Diamond ", so we decided to release them all together.
Stones Taro: I was asked to remix Zaltsman's song, so I made it, and then I thought I'd like Zaltsman to remix my song, so I sent him the stems. Zaltsman's songs are euphoric modern house, but they have a unique twist and are interesting, so I like them. He sent me a great remix right away, and we decided to include it in this remix album.
Kaoruko: This remix felt really fresh when I first heard it. It's a Japanese song remixed by someone from overseas, so the way the vocals were edited was cut off in the middle of the words. I think Japanese people who know the original song would be surprised to hear "cut it off here," but I hadn't heard much of that, so I thought it was really interesting! It has a popping sound that's different from the other songs, and it has a completely different impression from the other songs on the album, so I was happy to be able to include this song!
- It all started with arranging for live performances, and then the release of the remix collection. I love both the pop version of "Y" that focuses on vocal UKG, and the dance version of "Y Remixies" that really gets you dancing, and I listen to them a lot! Finally, could you tell us if you have any plans for the two of you to collaborate in the future?
Kaoruko: I don't think anything specific has been decided yet.
Stones Taro: Yes. I have some ideas. I'm also curious to see how Kao-chan's interests will change in the future.
Kaoruko: After I released "Y", people who listened to it seemed to have a strong garage image of me, but I don't focus on that alone. Of course, I want to do dance-like songs too. With Taro-kun, it would be interesting to try making a song with a completely different impression. I tried singing on tracks like the ambient songs on Taro-kun's recent album (Stones Taro - Dwellers Of The Seabed).
Stones Taro: It seems interesting that we can do anything together. I also like Kaoruko's solo acoustic guitar song (Kaoruko - set me free). It would be fun to change the way we did it for "Y" and try to come up with an idea from the lyrics and melody that Kaoruko wrote first and then arrange it.
Kaoruko: That's great! I'm looking forward to it!
Kaoruko
Born in Yokosuka and raised in Shinjuku.
Influenced by a variety of genres, including pop, rock, and dance music, he also composes his own music.
After debuting in 2019 with the EP "Starting now," she released the EPs "You Better Know," "SyGyZy," and "opal."
Following their collaboration on "YOU WORRY (feat. Stones Taro)" on tokyo vitamin's compilation album, their latest work was the EP "Y" released as Kaoruko & Stones Taro in March 2024.
They are currently actively performing on dance floors across Tokyo, including at WOMB's 24th Anniversary and release party next month.
Stones Taro
A DJ/producer living in Kyoto. He has released many songs strongly inspired by 90's House/UK Garage/Jungle from labels around the world, including the UK. His "Word Rush EP", released by YAM Records (UK) in 2020, sold out in record shops around the world and attracted attention, including being repressed.
Since then, he has released a series of 12-inch records from major labels in the current UK underground scene, such as Shall Not Fade and Hardline Sounds. Despite living in Japan, he is considered a rare producer in the current UK scene.
As a DJ, he has performed at major domestic festivals such as Star Festival, Rainbow Disco Club -Sound Horizon-, and Fuji Rock Fes., and in 2023 he embarked on his first UK tour.
In 2017, together with fellow Kyoto-based DJ/producer Lomax, he started running the Kyoto-based dance music label "NC4K". With a continuous string of releases and parties, the label has attracted attention as an important link between Japan and overseas.
He has received support from some of the most cutting-edge producers in dance music, including Ben UFO, Objekt, Om Unit, Coco Bryce, Conducta, and Breaka.
